Payton Petersen

Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen celebrate on the court

Cara Cresse, Hannah Kenny, Nayelis Cabello, Payton Petersen celebrate

Kalyssa Blackshear, Cara Cresse, Nayelis Cabello, Chloe Chicoine and Payton Petersen huddle on the court.

Payton Petersen and Cara Cresse Celebrate at the net

Payton Petersen celebrates a kill with Hannah Sherman

Payton Petersen hits against Boston College block

Payton Petersen, Cara Cresse, Chloe Chicoine celebrate a point against Kentucky

Photo by: Mallory Peak | Louisville Athletics

nayelis cabello, payton petersen and hannah sherman celebrate on the court

The Cards celebrate on the court after a point

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

Team picture for team advancing to Regionals

Celebrate in locker room after fifth set win

The team reacts to their being named Top Four NCAA Seed

payton petersen swings from the right side

Position:
Outside Hitter
Height:
6-0
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Dike, Iowa
High School:
Dike-New Hartford

PRONUNCIATION

2025: Payton Petersen was voted 2025 All-ACC Second Team and 2025 AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention squads. She was named to the Creighton All-Bluejay Invitational Team with 38 kills, 6 blocks and 33 digs at the tourney as well as being voted to the All-Cardinal Classic team. She had the team-high in kills with 24 versus No. 14 Miami and the team’s highest point total with 24.5 also against UM and season-high/team-high 55 attacks against No. 2 Texas. She set her career-high in blocks with five against Kentucky and had seven matches with 15+ Kills including 20 versus Illinois, 18 versus No. 8 SMU and 16 versus No. 5 Stanford. She led the team in double-doubles with 13 including versus No. 2 Texas, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 4 Stanford (2x), No. 8 SMU, No. 14 Miami and No. 3 Texas A&M. She had three aces against Penn State and Rice and had 15 digs versus No. 5 Stanford and Auburn and four assists vs. Virginia. A six rotation player, AvidVolleyball had her listed as Top Ten Receivers in multiple weeks as she passed 2.25 on 3 point scale and maintained a reception percentage of .958. Petersen was tabbed for USA Volleyball U21 National Team and the US National Team Training.

2024: The freshman appeared in 35 sets across 20 matches, including big appearances in the National Semifinal and National Championship. Payton hit 35 kills, 38 digs, eight blocks and seven aces in 2024. Five of her aces came in the Final Four, serving two against Pitt and three against Penn State. Petersen posted a team season high hitting percentage of 0.833 at Virginia Tech with five kills on six attacks. She took her first career start against Notre Dame on Oct. 30, knocking down nine kills, two blocks and an ace. An ace in the classroom, Payton was named to the All-ACC Academic Team as well.

Prep: Payton Petersen is a 6-0 outside hitter from Dike, Iowa, where she played for Dike-New Hartford under head coach Diane Harms as well playing club for Six Pack under coach Jay Grassley. During her time with Six Pack, her team finished as national runner-up and she was named to the All-Tournament Team in 2022 before becoming the 2023 national champion where Petersen was named the 2023 MVP in the national division. At Dike-New Hartford, she was a three-time state champion in 2020, 2021 and 2023 and was state runner-up in 2022. Her 2023 team compiled a 41-0 record enroute to the state championship. She was a four-time All-Conference, All-District, and All-State selection in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023. The three-time team captain also named Elite Team All-State in three consecutive seasons and was named the Co-Player of the Year in 2021. In 2022, she named the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and was a 2023 Under Armor All-American.

Personal: Daughter of Duane and Bobbi Petersen. Born March 20. Major is communication. Her mom, Bobbi is the head volleyball coach at Northern Iowa, while her father, Duane, played football at UNI (1986-89). Her twin, Jadyn, plays volleyball at Northern Iowa.